was timing pitches on deck. I am only bringing this up because there was a thread a while back that described if this was ethical or not.

Anyway, watch the condensed game on MLB.tv and he is clearly seen in two of JD's AB timing the pitch coming in the on deck circle. Guess it isn't uncommon in the bigs? Or is he gonna get drilled for it one of these days?

pearso66

06-19-2008, 10:51 PM

Personally, I think every player times pitches. I think you'd be stupid not to, it's basically the same thing as a scouting report, in my mind anyway. I think people had problems with players standing behind the plate timing, or closer than the batters box and timing.

HomeFish

06-19-2008, 10:54 PM

Woo, he'll get on base his next 16 times!

MCHSoxFan

06-19-2008, 10:58 PM

Personally, I think every player times pitches. I think you'd be stupid not to, it's basically the same thing as a scouting report, in my mind anyway. I think people had problems with players standing behind the plate timing, or closer than the batters box and timing.

Yep. My seats are right on the on-deck circle. They ALL do it but some are just LESS noticeable.

chisoxfanatic

06-19-2008, 11:04 PM

Whatever, I don't think what Swisher's doing is any bit unethical. The only unethical thing would be for the team to have a camera in the batter's eye or something to steal signs (kinda like what happened in that Texas series a couple years back).

Daver

06-19-2008, 11:05 PM

If he keeps it in the on deck circle, no one has a reason to complain.

BRDSR

06-19-2008, 11:18 PM

Only people who have never played organized baseball at a level higher than t-ball would think this is unethical.

If a pitcher actually drilled a guy in the on deck circle in the majors, I expect he wouldn't pitch again for at least a year if ever. No one's going to risk that much money.

soxcrazy49

06-20-2008, 12:15 AM

:?:

soxcrazy49

06-20-2008, 12:24 AM

Yep. My seats are right on the on-deck circle. They ALL do it but some are just LESS noticeable.

clear your PMs

ondafarm

06-20-2008, 09:04 AM

If a pitcher actually drilled a guy in the on deck circle in the majors, I expect he wouldn't pitch again for at least a year if ever. No one's going to risk that much money.

Mascots on the other hand, are fair game.

ondafarm

06-20-2008, 09:10 AM

was timing pitches on deck. I am only bringing this up because there was a thread a while back that described if this was ethical or not.

Anyway, watch the condensed game on MLB.tv and he is clearly seen in two of JD's AB timing the pitch coming in the on deck circle. Guess it isn't uncommon in the bigs? Or is he gonna get drilled for it one of these days?

To clarify, I was talking about batters who, during the six pitch warmup period between innings or just before the game, walk up to the fungo circle or closer and time the pitches. If you are on-deck then of course you should be watching the pitcher intently and timing his pitches. Everybody does that.

Well, nearly everybody. Every player has a story about some teammate who would look around the stadium for pretty girls or talk with the fans or vendors. Most team specificly outlaw dispensing autographs during the game for exactly that reason.

As a catcher, one of my standard tricks was to point out a pretty girl or one of the cheerleaders to guys just coming to bat, just to distract them.

doublem23

06-20-2008, 09:34 AM

As a catcher, one of my standard tricks was to point out a pretty girl or one of the cheerleaders to guys just coming to bat, just to distract them.

I saw your wife yesterday, hell of a dancer, you must be very proud. Now, who was that guy she was with? I'm sure he's a close personal friend and all but what was he doing wearing her panties on his head?

Uh oh, I don't think this one's got the distance.

stl_sox_fan

06-20-2008, 09:54 AM

If a pitcher actually drilled a guy in the on deck circle in the majors, I expect he wouldn't pitch again for at least a year if ever. No one's going to risk that much money.

Wasn't there a minor leauger or college pitcher a few years back that nailed a guy in the on deck circle because he was timing pitches?

ondafarm

06-20-2008, 10:11 AM

I saw your wife yesterday, hell of a dancer, you must be very proud. Now, who was that guy she was with? I'm sure he's a close personal friend and all but what was he doing wearing her panties on his head?

Uh oh, I don't think this one's got the distance.

Obviously, if you use the same line, over and over again, it works about as well as you'd expect. That's as true as lines in Japanese as in English. On the other hand, we had some pretty attractive looking cheerleaders and I would know their routines by heart including when they'd shake or ((well, we'll leave the imagery out of this post)). Just getting a batter to focus on looking into the stands, particularly making them see the pastel colors favored at that time in Japan, made their focus less able to pick up that first pitch out of my pitcher's hand. In pro baseball, slight edges like that are critical. Call me unprofessional if you want, but I'd help my pitcher out in any way I could.

Then again, on the road, my shortstop, who was married, had a signal to me to point out when and where any exceptionally pretty girl was returning from the refreshment stand.

voodoochile

06-20-2008, 10:15 AM

Wasn't there a minor leauger or college pitcher a few years back that nailed a guy in the on deck circle because he was timing pitches?

He wasn't in the OD circle, IIRC and yes, he was subsequently drafted by the flubbies.

stl_sox_fan

06-20-2008, 10:29 AM

He wasn't in the OD circle, IIRC and yes, he was subsequently drafted by the flubbies.